i^^^' 


''M\t  good  Iiaiut  of  our  ^od  upiiujj/' 


THANKSGIVING  SERMON, 


•REACHED     OX    OCCASION    OP 


THE  VICTORY  OF  MANASSAS, 


July  21st,  1861, 


PRESBYTEEIAN  CHUECH,  ^'OEFOLK,  VA., 


BY 


REV.  GEO.  D.  ARMSTRONG,  D.  D.*  PASTOR. 


NORFOLK,  VA., 

PUBLISHED    BY   J.    D.  GHISELIN,  JR., 
No.  0  West  Main  Stueet. 

is(n. 


SPECIAL     NOTICE 


Hnvinij  clt'tcrniinod  not  to  rosiime  his  busincsss  with 
the  North,  the  undcrsitjned  would  announce  to  his  frit-nds 
and  customers  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  that  it  is 
his  purpose  cither  to  t^o  himself  to  Great  Britain  and  the 
continent,  or,  throutrh  a  special  agent,  to  obtain  from 
thence  (immediately  on  raising  the  blockade,  which  may 
now  confidently  be  looked  for  by  the  first  of  December 
next,)  a  large  and  select  assortment  of 

And  would  respectfully  solicit  the  Orders  of  (ientlemcn. 
Colleges.  Literary  Institutions,  &c.,  pledging  himself  that 
all  such  Orders  shall  be  promptly  executed  on  favorable 
terms. 


^oohs.  ^Inlosopbical  Apparatus,  Instruments,  i^aps,  «tc. 

FOR   COLLKIiKH,    LITRRARV    ASSOCIATIONS,    ETC. 

I  1*4;  I'OK.TEXJ       FREE       OF       33  "U  T  TiT  ! 


Orders,  however  small,  will  bo  carefully  and   faith- 
fully executed.*. 

J.    D.    GHISELIN,    J  UN. 

Imporier  and  Bookseller. 

No.  6  West  Main  SU,  (uniler  Atliintic  Hotel,) 

NORFOLK,   VA. 

AuorsT,    18(j]. 


"i;k  poU  hand  of  our  ^ad  upon  us." 


THANKSGIVING  SERMON, 

PREACHED     OX    OCCASION    OF      , 

THE  VICTORY  OF  MANASSAS, 

July  21st,  1861, 


PKESBYTERIAN  CHUECH,  NOEFOLK,  YA., 


EEV.  GEO.  D.  ARMSTROXa,  D.  D.,  PASTOR. 


NOEFOLK,  VA., 

PUBLISHED    BY   J.   D.  GHISELIN,  JR., 
No.  6  West  Main  Street. 

1861. 


1^.  IN.- 


r 


SERMON. 


"The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  my  song,  and  He  is  become  my  salvation  :  He  is 
my  God,  and  I  will  prepare  Him  a  habitation ;  my  father's  God,  and  I  will  exalt 
Him.     The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war;  the  Lord  is  His  name." — Exodus  xv,  2,  .1. 

Oil  receiving  official  intelligence  of  our  recent  victory  at 
Manassas,  the  Congress  of  these  Confederate  States  unani- 
mously 

^^  Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  Most  High  God,  the  King 
of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords,  in  the  glorious  victory  with 
which  He  has  crowned  our  arms  at  Manassas,  and  that  the 
people  of  the  Confederate  States  are  invited,  hy  appro])riatc 
services  on  the  ensuing  Sabbath,  to  offer  up  their  united 
thanksgiving  and  praise  for  this  mighty  deliverance." 

In  the  first  published  official  account  of  the  first  important 
battle  of  this  war,  the  battle  of  Bethel,  Brigadier-General 
Hill  concludes  with  the  words :  "  Our  Heavenly  Father  has 
wonderfully  interposed  to  shield  our  heads  in  the  day  of  bat- 
tle. Unto  His  name  be  all  the  praise  for  our  success."  There 
is  a  heartiness  in  the  recognition  of  God's  "  good  hand"  in 
these  words,  which  make  this  dispatch  unlike  any  other 
official  dispatch  from  a  battle  field  I  have  ever  read. 

I  have  seen  three  private  letters,  from  three  of  our  soldiers, 
written  on  the  battle  field  at  Manassas,  in  every  one  of  which 
there  is  the  distinct  recognition  of  God's  good  providence  in 
that  battle,  and  this,  though  not  one  of  the  three  is  a  professor 
of  religion.  "  Jt  is  with  feelings  of  joy,  and  thanks  to  Al- 
mighty God  that  I  am  still  alive,  I  write  you  these  lines,"  are 
the  wt)rds  of  one.  "1  was  kiiock(^d  senseless,  and  they 
trampled  all  over  me  before  I  was  carried  off  the  field  :  but  I 
am  safe  now,  I  thank  God  for  that,"  are  the  words  of  another. 
The  third,  who  fainted  fronn  exhaustion  near  the  close  of  the 
battle,  and  recovered  his  consciousness  to  find  himself  in  an 
ambulance  with  the  dead  and  wounded,  writes :  "  God  must 
have  watched  over  and  protected  me,  for,  surely,  I  was  in  the 
very  jaws  of  death." 

These  facts,  and  others  of  similar  import,  which   I   might 


mention  did  it  seem  necessar}',  show  llnit  the  impression  is 
wide-spread,  if  not  universal,  among  our  people  that  God.  even 
the  God  of  our  fathers,  is  with  us  in  the  contest  in  which  wo 
are  engai^ed.  The  wide  extent  of  sucli  an  impression  as  this, 
thougJi  not  conclusive,  is  strong  presumptive  proof  that  it  is 
founded  in  truth  ;  and  what  I  purpose  on  the  present  occa- 
sion is — 

To  ])lace  a  statement  of  the  Christian  Doctrine  of  Divine 
Providence,  and  certain  facts  in  the  history  of  this  second 
"war  of  independence"  side  hy  side;  that  we  may  see  just 
what  foundation  there  is  for  this  impression  ;  and,  consequent- 
ly, what  call  there  is  upon  us  to  render  thanksgiviiig  to  God 
to-day.  If  it  is  right  that  we  should  repeat  Moses'  song  of 
thanksgiving,  of  which  the  text  forms  a  ])art,  let  us  sing  that 
song  "  with  the  heart  and  with  the  understanding." 

In  fultilinent  of  this  design,  I  remark — 

1.  The  Scriptures  teach  us  that  God  does  exercise  a  provi- 
dential control  over  the  seasons,  rendering  them  ]M-o))itious  or 
adverse  to  the  designs  of  men. 

To  this,  as  a  doctrine  universally  believed  among  the 
heathen,  as  well  as  taught  in  Scripture,  Paul  appeals  in  his 
words:  "Nevertheless  lie  (i.  e.  God)  left  not  Himself  without 
witness,  in  that  He  did  good,  and  gave  us  rain  from  heaven, 
and  fi-uitful  seasons,  filling  our  hearts  with  food  and  gladness." 
Acts  xiv,  17. 

At  the  time  this  present  contest  first  began  to  appear  to  us 
all  inevitable,  our  necessities  as  a  people  seemed  to  require 
peculiarities  in  the  season  almost  impossible  of  fulfilment. 
Abuiulant  crops,  especiall}''  of  grain,  were  necessary,  and,  to 
secure  these,  there  must  be  "  rain  from  heaven."  Defences 
were  to  be  erected,  an  army  was  to  be  gathered,  and  equipped, 
and  disciplined,  and  brought  into  the  tield  ;  and,  for  this  end, 
we  needed  fair  weather;  more  especially,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  many  of  our  troops  must  be  put  into  the  field  without  a 
proper  supply  of  tents  to  shelter  them  there. 

How  wonderfully  God's  "good  hand  has  been  upon  us"  in 
this  matter  appears  in  the  result.  This  year,  we  have  not  had 
the  constant  succession  of  rains  which  we  are  accustomed  to 
speak  of  as  "  the  long,  wet  season  in  May,"  and  yet  God  has 
"  given  us  rain  fi-om  heaven"  e/iough  to  secure  us  what  is  ad- 
mitted on  all  hands  to  be  the  most  abundant  grain  crop  ever 
gathered  in  the  Southern  States.  Our  barns  are  full.  Wo 
have  enough  and  to  spare.  And  we  have  had  so  much  fair 
wealher  that  our  defences  have  progressed  with  sufficient 
raj)i(lity  to  secure  all  important  points  against  the  attacks 
of  tlic  invader.  And  we  have  been  enabled  to  gather,  and 
disci|iline,  and  bring  into  the  field  a  military  force  which  has 
given  to  tlie  largest  and  best  equii)ped  army  that  has  ever  been 
gathered  in  this  Western  world  a  defeat,  of  which  an  eye-wit- 


ness,  and  one  competent  to  express  an  opinion,  says  :  "History 
records  no  such  defeat  for  the  past  century — no  rout  so  utter 
and  complete  as  that  of  tlie  federal  forces  at  Manassas."  (Mr. 
Eussell,  as  reported  in  the  "Baltimore  Exchange.") 

Surely,  for  this  season,  so  strangely  propitious  to  us,  we 
should  render  thanksgiving  to  God  to-da3^ 

I].  The  Scriptures  teach  us  that  Crod  does  exercise  a  provi- 
dential control  over  all  that  immediately  concerns  the  preser- 
vation, or  cutting  short  of  human  life  :  It  is  His  hand  that 
guides,  and  His  power  that  controls  'Hhe  destruction  that 
wasteth  at  noon-day"  as  well  as  "  the  pestilence  that  walkcth 
in  darkness." 

"  Thou  (God)  turnest  man  to  destruction  j  and  sayest,  Ee- 
turn  yo  children  of  men."  Ps.  xc,  8.  "  Are  not  two  sparrows 
sold  for  a  farthing?  and  one  of  them  shall  not  fall  on  the 
ground  without  your  father.  Fear  ye  not  therefore,  ye  are  of 
more  value  than  many  sparrows."     Matt,  x,  29,  31. 

From  the  battle  Held  of  Bethel.  Brigadier-General  Hill 
wrote:  "Our  Heavenly  Father  has  wonderfully  interposed  to 
shield  our  heads  in  the  day  of  battle."  In  that  battle,  in 
which  some  thirteen  hundred  of  our  men  were  opposed  to  four 
or  five  thousand  of  the  enemy,  during  a  battle  of  several  houi's, 
Ave  lost  not  one  killed,  but  one  mortally  wounded  (Wyatt  died 
after  the  battle  was  over),  and  seven  or  eight  slightly  wound- 
ed, whilst  the  enem^^  lost  so  many  that  they  have  never  been 
willing  to  publish  the  official  account  of  their  loss,  but,  judging 
from  what  I  have  heard  and  read  from  persons  in  the  battle, 
and  in  the  neighborhood  for  several  da^'s  after  the  battle,  I 
should  say  not  less  than  live  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded — 
probabl}'  more. 

In  all  the  attacks  which  have  been  made  upon  our  batteries 
about  Norfolk,  on  the  south  si.de  of  James'  river,  including  the 
several  attacks  ujjon  Sewell's  Point,  Pig's  Point  and  Haj-'s 
Neck,  together  with  the  firing  from  the  Quaker  City  upon 
private  houses,  and  at  our  cavalry  on  the  bay  shore,  and  the 
firing  from  the  great  rifle  cannon  at  Fortress  Calhoun,  not  one 
of  our  men,  thus  far,  has  been  killed  or  seriously  wounded. 
How  man}'  of  the  enemy  have  been  killed  I  know  not,  but, 
taking  their  own  published  statements  of  their  own  case,  they 
can  sliow  no  such  recoi-d  as  ours. 

From  the  recent  battle  at  Manassas,  in  which  those  best  in- 
formed on  the  subject  estimate  the  force  activelj''  engaged  on 
our  side  at  fifteen  thousand,  whilst  the  invading  force  actively 
engaged  amounted  to  thirt^^-fivc  thousand,  we  have  not  yet 
learned  definitely  the  number  killed  and  wounded  on  either 
side;  but,  after  having  seen  several  private  letters  from  per- 
sons in  the  battle,  and  conversed  with  some  who  have  returned 
from  the  battle  field  in  the  last  few  days,  as  well  as  read  care- 
fully the  published  accounts  of  the  engagement,  I  do  not  hesi- 


tate  to  express  the  opinion  that  where  our  loss  is  numbered  by 
hundreds,  tlie  loss  of  the  eneni}-  will  be  numbered  by  thou- 
sands. 

And  sueh  has  Iteon,  in  ^^eneral,  the  result  in  the  battles  of 
this  war;  with  ihe  single  e.x'ception  of  the  reverse  to  our  arms 
in  the  onj^a<i;ement  at  Laurel  Hill — a  reverse  inconsiderable  in 
its  oonsequences,  since  the  enemj'  has  not  been  able  to  cross 
the  mountains;  a  reverse  to  be  remembered  only  because  of  the 
death  of  the  i:;:illant  (icn.  (larnett  and  a  few  of  his  brave  com- 
panions in  arms  who  met  death  at  his  side. 

Compare  this  with  the  histoiy  of  the  brilliant  camjiaign  of 
Napoleon  111,  in  Italy,  the  summer  before  the  last — and  I 
select  this  campaii^n  because  the  same  ditlerences  characterize 
the  parties  enga_i|;ed,  which  are  sometimes  cited  to  exjdain  the 
unequal  loss  in  the  present  conflict: — the  French,  from  natural 
disposition  and  previous  habits  of  life,  were  better  soldiers  than 
the  Austrians,  and  they  certain I3'  were  led  on  b}'  better  com- 
manders. Thej'^  conquered  :  and  3'et,  in  the  decisive  battles 
of  Magenta  and  Solferino,  the  loss  of  the  French  was  almost  as 
great  as  that  of  the  Austrians. 

Why  is  our  case  so  difterent?  I  can  give  no  explanation  of 
the  fact  but  that  contained  in  the  words  of  General  llill :  "  Our 
Heavenly  Father  has  wonderfully  interposed  to  shield  our 
heads  in  the  day  of  battle."  To  Him  let  us  render  the  thank.s- 
giving  due  to-day. 

Hi.  "The  right  man  in  the  right  place."  such  as  the  great 
and  good  AYashinglon,  in  the  days  which  tricMl  our  fathers,  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  gift  of  God  to  a  peo])le. 

"  God  is  judge;  He  putteth  down  one  and  setteth  up  another." 
Ps.  Ixxv,  7.  "  By  me  kings  reign,  and  princes  decree  justice. 
By  me  princes  rule,  and  nobles,  even  all  the  judges  of  the 
earth."  Prov.  viii,  15,  16.  Of  Cyrus,  God  says,  by  the  mouth 
of  Isaiah,  "  For  Jacob,  my  servant's  sake,  and  Israel,  mine 
elect,  I  have  even  called  thee  bj*  thy  name;  I  have  summoned 
thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known  me."     Isai.  xlv,  4. 

Do  I  not  express  the  thoughts  of  3'our  hearts,  my  hearers, 
when  I  say,  surel}',  "  God's  good  hantl  has  been  upon  us"  in 
giving  to  us  the  men  who  to-day  guide  our  councils  and  lead 
our  armies '( 

The  leaders  ol'  our  armies,  b}'  their  admii-abie  generalslii]i, 
have  already  secured  the  enthusiastic  confidence  of  their  troops 
and  made  for  themselves  a  name  in  histor}-. 

The  members  of  our  Confederate  Congress  have  exliil>ited  a 
statesmanship  and  a  j)ure  and  lofty  patriotism  which,  in  all 
coming  time,  will  associate  their  memory  with  that  of  the 
fathers  of  our  first  revolution.  Who  of  us  is  there  that  would 
not  be  shocked — I  do  not  say,  surprised ;  but  shocked — at  the 
bare  proposition  to  appoint  among  them  a  Committee,  such  as 
has  recently  been  appointed  in  the  Federal  Congress,  to  inves- 


tigate  alleged  abuses  of  power  and  peculations  upon  the  treas- 
•  my,  and  frauds  b}^  members  of  their  own  body  and  others  in 
power  ? 

Of  our  President  I  will  sa}'  nothing  but  to  remind  you  of 
what  recently  occurred  at  Manassas.  When,  after  many  hours 
of  hard  fighting,  Davis  appeared  upon  the  field,  it  is  said  that 
"  men  who  lay  there  wounded,  bleeding  and  exhausted,  waved 
their  caps  as  they  lay,  and  cheered  him  as  he  passed;  and 
where  their  ranks  had  been  broken,  and  the  men  were  some- 
what scattered,  when  they  saw  the  President  of  the  South  in 
their  midst,  they  shouted,  they  would  follow  him  to  the  death, 
and  rallied  once  more  for  the  last  and  successful  onslaught." 
Call  to  mind  now  the  character  of  our  army,  made  up,  as  it  is, 
from  all  classes  of  our  conununit}- — our  fathers — our  husbands — 
our  sons — our  brothers — the  very  flower  of  our  Southern  people 
— and  I  can  conceive  of  no  more  emphatic  declaration  than  this, 
that,  in  the  judgment  of  the  people,  our  President  is  "  the  right 
man  in  the  right  place." 

A  few  months  ago,  when  the  storm  which  has  now  broken 
upon  us  began  to  gather  thick  and  dark  o'er  our  heads,  many 
of  us  exclaimed — O,  for  such  men  to  guide  our  councils  as  the 
fathers  of  our  first  revolution — O,  for  another  Washington. 
God  has  been  better  to  us  than  our  fears: — And  for  our  rulers, 
let  us  render  thanksgiving  to  Him  to-day. 

IV.  Courage,  such  as  lies  at  the  foundation  of  patriotism,  as 
well  as  Christian  heroism,  the  Scriptures  teach  us.  is  a  gift  of 
God. 

"Give  us  help  from  trouble:  for  vain  is  the  help  of  man. 
Through  God  we  shall  do  valiantUj;  for  he  it  is  that  shall  tread 
down  our  enemies."  Ps.  Ix,  11,  12.  "Blessed  be  the  Lord  my 
strength,  which  teacheth  my  hands  to  war,  and  m}'  fingers  to 
fight.  My  goodness  and  my  fortress ;  my  high  tower  and  my 
deliverer;  my  shield,  and  He  in  wiiom  1  trust."  Ps.  cxliv,  1,2. 
"  And  now  Lord,  behold  their  threatenings  :  and  grant  unto 
thy  servants  that  with  all  boldness  they  may  speak  thy  words." 
Acts  iv,  29. 

Attempting  an  analysis  of  human  courage,  with  an  eye  to 
its  immediate  origin,  I  would  say — 

1.  There  is  courage  (understanding  the  word  in  its  common, 
comprehensive  acceptation)  which  is  the  immediate  result  of 
peculiarities  of  mental  and  physical  constitution.     Insensibility 

^^  to  sudden  oriiviug  impressions  of  any  kind,  strong  nerves  and 
unbroken  bodil}^  health,  enable  some  men  to  encounter  danger 
unmoved.     Such  men,  we  say,  are  naturally  bold. 

Couragd  of  this  kind,  though  not  courage  of  the  highest  tyi^e. 
is  yet  something  to  be  thankful  for  :  and  is  as  evidently  the 
gift  of  God,  as  is  the  unbroken  bodil}'  health  upon  which,  in 
part,  it  depends. 

2.  There  is  also  a  courage  which  has  its  immediate   origin 


8 

in  the  strong  working  of  evil  passions  in  the  breast  of  man)» 
such  as  lust,  avarice,  revenge.  And  the  Scriptures  teach  us 
that  an  influence  "  from  beneath"  often  mingles  itself  with  the 
evil  passions  of  the  wicked  heart  in  giving  to  such  courage 
unwonted  vigor.  Such  is  the  courage  which  sometimes  renders 
the  midnight  robber,  tlie  assassin,  tiie  pirate,  uttcrh-  insensible 
to  danger. 

The  influence  "from  beneath''  which  mingles  with  man's  evil 
passions  in  giving  vigor  to  such  courage  as  this,  is  exerted 
through  the  agency  oi"  lying  suggestions  as  to  the  value  and 
possibility  ol"  obtaining  the  thing  coveted,  and  constitutes  what, 
in  Scripture,  is  termed  a  temptation  of  the  devil,  llence  it  is 
that  the  men  who  exliil)it  most  of  this  courage  are  to  be  found 
among  the  vicious  and  abandoned.  Would  you  enlist  them  for 
an  army  '{  (Jo  to  the  dram  shops  and  other  sinks  of  iniquity 
in  our  large  cities  and  inscribe  upon  the  banner  under  which 
you  would  muster  them,  some  such  motto  as  "  booty  and 
beauty." 

Such  courage  as  this  is  often  desperate,  it  is  generally  cruel, 
it  is  alwa^'s  uncertain.  Men  inspired  with  it  may  sometimes 
fight  a  bloody  battle — the}'  are  ahva^'S  liable  to  causeless  panic 
and  sudden  rout. 

3.  There  is  a  courage,  which  is  courage  of  a  higher  type 
than  eitiier  of  these.  It  has  its  immediate  origin  in  the  better 
passions  of  the  human  soul,  such  as  indignation  at  wrong,  ad- 
miration of  justice,  love  of  country,  love  of  kindred,  love  of 
truth,  love  of  God,  all  invigorated  by  conscience — that  master 
power  in  the  human  soul. 

In  courage  such  as  tliis  there  is  often  mingled,  with  the  better 
passions  of  the  soul,  the  Scriptures  teach  us.  an  influence  from 
above,  causing  this  courage  to  take  on  the  form  of  "  more  than 
mortal  heroism  :"  an  influence  exerted,  when  God's  service  is 
concerned,  through  the  agency  of  revealed  truth,  and  -lience 
often  and  truly  spoken  of  as  the  influence  of  (,'hristian  faith. 
Such  is  the  courage  whicli  has  sometimes  enabled  feeble  woman 
to  brave  the  terrors  of  the  rack,  and  even  to  sing  a  song  of 
trium2)h  whilst  burning  at  the  stake.  Such  is  the  courage  of 
the  true  patriot  and  Christian  warrior,  often  frail  in  body  and 
timid  in  natural  disposition,  yet,  on  the  battle  field,  kee2)ing 
even  pace  with  him  of  iron  neiwe,  ready  "  to  do  or  die." 

Among  those  who,  throughout  the  protracted  battle  of  Ma- 
nassas, stood  firm  under  the  deadl}'  storm  hurled  upon  them 
from  musket  and  cannon  and  howitzer,  were  some  personally' 
known  to  me,  whose  heroism  I  can  account  for  in  no  other 
way  than  by  tracing  it  to  courage  of  this  last  mentioned  kind; 
and  letters  which  1  have  seen  from  them,  disclosing  their 
thoughts  and  feelings  while  the  btittle  raged,  have  served  to 
confirm  this  belii'f  And  here,  in  God's  house  to-day,  I  say, 
thanks  be  to  Cfod  for  much  of  that  couraiie  which  enabled  our 


fifteen  thousand  to  turn  back  the  thirty-five  thousand  of  the 
invading  force. 

y.  God,  in  his  providence,  when  men  oppose  themselves  to 
His  righteous  will,  often   so   blinds  their  judgment  and   con-' 
founds  their  counsels,  that  b}^  their  own  acts  they  precipitate 
their  overthrow. 

Hence  David,  when  sore  pressed  by  those  who.  without 
cause,  were  his  enemies,  prays:  "O  my  God,  make  haste  for 
my  help.  Let  them  be  confounded  that  are  adversaries  to  my 
soul;  let  them  be  covered  with  reproach  and  dishonor  who 
seek  my  hurt."  Ps.  Ixxi,  12,  13.  The  general  belief  of  God's 
exercising  His  providence  in  this  way  is  expressed  in  the  oft- 
qiioted  Latin  maxim,  "  Quem  dots  vult  perdere,  prius  demental." 

Does  the  history  of  the  present  contest  give  us  reason  to 
believe  that  God's  providence  has  been  thus  working  for  us  ? 
Six  months  ago  the  people  of  the  Confederate  States  were  a 
thoroughly  divided  people.  A  large  majorit}^  in  Virginia — 
and  the  same  is  true  of  the  other  border  slave  States — were 
fixed  in  purpose  to  maintain  the  old  Union.  When  in  Febru- 
ary last  we  elected  a  Convention,  we  elected  to  it  Union  men 
by  an  aggregate  majority  of  sixty  thousand. 

In  the  course  of  ninety  days  all  is  changed.  With  a  unani- 
mity such  as  was  never  witnessed  in  the  time  of  our  first  revo- 
lution, eleven  States,  embracing  one-third  of  the  population, 
and  covering  nearly  one-half  the  territory  of  the  old  Union, 
declared  themselves  independent  of  that  Union,  and,  confed- 
erating together,  pledged  to  each  other  "their  lives,  their 
fortunes  and  their  sacred  honor,"  to  maintain  that  indepen- 
dence at  every  cost  and  at  all  hazards.  • 

The  reality  of  this  change  President  Lincoln  and  those  who 
sympathize  Avith  him  have  persistently  denied — affirming  that 
the  action  of  the  several  Confederate  States  is  not  a  fair  ex- 
pi"©8sion  of  the  sentiments  of  their  people,  but  a  result  accom- 
plished b}' an  active  and  imperious  minority;  and  thus  have 
the}^  endeavored  to  make  this  great  mass  movement  of  the 
South  to  appear  in  the  eyes  of  the  Avorld  a  rebellion  and  not  a 
revolution,  and  to  aflix  to  tliose  engaged  in  it  the  stigma  of 
rebel  and  traitor. 

The  truth  with  respect  to  this  matter  must  ultimately  appear, 
but  it  is  of  great  importance  to  us  that  it  may  be  made  to  ap- 
pear speedil}'.  in  order  that  we  may  have  that  sympathy  fi'om 
all  who  love  constitutional  freedom  throughout  the  world,  to 
which  we  are  fairly  entitled.  As  if  smitten  with  bliudnees 
from  God,  our  very  reviler  Ikis  been  made  to  furnish  the  refu- 
tation of  his  own  charges,  in  his  call  for  an  army  of  5U0,0UU 
men  and  400,000,000  dollars  "  to  suppress  the  rebellion."  A 
rebellion  in  one  section  of  a  country,  such  as  ours,  Avhich  re- 
quires 500,0'iO  men  and  400,000,000  "dollars  to  be  furnished  by 
another  section  for  its  suppression,  is  an  absurdity  such  as  the 


10 

very  schoolboy  will  laugh  at  when  the  excitement  of  the  pres- 
ent times  shall  have  pass^  away — an  absurdity  too  gross  to 
impose  upon  any  foreign  people  whose  S3'mpathy  is  worth  the 
having. 

The  causes  of  this  great  change  in  the  sentiments  of  the 
Southern  people,  and,  consequently,  in  their  position  with 
respect  to  the  old  Union,  are  brieflythese  : 

In  God's  ])rovidence  wo  have  a  dependent  race  among  us, 
sustaining  ]>cculiar  relations  to  the  governing  race.  The  char- 
acter and  position  of  this  dependent  race  is  such  that  its  safety, 
its  very  existence,  as  well  as  the  well-being  of  ourselves  and 
children,  i-eqnire  that  the  absolute  control  of  all  matters  con- 
cerning it  shall  be  left  entirely  in  the  hands  of  our  Southern 
peoj)lc.  On  the  4th  of  January,  the  day  observed  as  a  day  of 
fasting  and  prayer,  upon  recommendation  of  the  late  and  the 
last  President  of  the  old  Union,  I  said  to  3-ou  1  did  not  see 
how  we,  as  honest.  Christian  men,  could  answer  to  God  for 
our  act,  did  we  surrender  one  iota  of  this  control ;  and  1  said 
this,  not  in  arguing  the  question  at  issue  with  the  North,  but 
as  giving  expression  to  your  views  and  feelings  respecting  the 
matter. 

That  this  exclusive  control  of  our  own  institution  and  our 
own  people  Avas  intended  to  be  secui'cd  to  us  by  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  old  Union;  and  that  the  slavcholding  States  were 
intended  to  have  an  equal  status  and  equal  rights  with  the  so- 
calletf  free  States  under  that  Constitution  ;  and,  further,  that 
the  Constitution  fairly  interpreted  does  secure  these  to  us,  no 
honest  man  can  deny.  That  they  have  been  sought  to  be 
wrested  from  us  b^-  a  party  at  the  North,  controlled  by  men, 
someintidel  in  sentiment,  others  fanatical  in  religion,  and 
others  still  unscrupulous  in  their  pursuit  of  place  and  power, 
is  well  known  to  the  world.  In  such  circumstances,  our  duty 
to  ourselves,  as  well  as  our  duty  to  this  dependent  race,  -re- 
quired that  we  should  demand  certain  alterations  in  the  letter 
of  tln^Constitution — not  alterations  in  its  spirit  and  intent, 
but  amiji|ktions  in  its  letter,  such  as  would  place  its  intent 
beyond  all  question.  On  these  jooints  the  people  of  the  Con- 
federate States  have  been  of  one  mind  from  the  beginning. 

Most  of  us  honestly  believed  that  the  North,  when  the 
question  was  fairly  pi-esented,  would  accede  to  our  demands, 
so  evidently  righteous  in  themselves;  or,  if  not,  would  consent 
to  our  peaceable  separation  from  them.  Others,  as  the  result 
proves,  forming  a  juster  estimate  of  the  purposes  and  power 
of  the  dominant  party  in  the  free  States,  did  not  synipatbize 
with  us  in  this  belief,  and  hence  the  division  which  at  first  ap- 
peared among  us.  Some  of  the  Southern  States  took  steps  for 
a  peremptory  withdrawal  from  the  Union  as  soon  as  the  ac- 
cession to  power  of  the  llcpubliean  party,  by  a  purely  sectional 


11 

and  a  minority  vote  too,  was  rendered  certain ;  others  refused 
to  take  this  step,  and  remained  in  the  Union,  making  effort 
after  effort  to  secui-e  their  rights,  but  defeated  in  every  one. 
So  unwilling  were  Ave  to  open  our  eyes  to  an  unpleasant"  truth 
that,  even  after  Congress  adjourned,  having  refused  every  offer 
of  compromise,  avc  yet  held  last  to  the  hope  of  an  adjustment, 
and  were  a  divided  people. 

The  attempt  of  the  present  federal  administi'ation  to  rein- 
force Forts  Sumter  and  Pickens,  and  the  call  for  an  army  of 
seventy-five  thousand  men,  to  assemble  in  Washington,  in 
whose  midst  the  South  must  meet  the  North  and  settle  the 
differences  between  them,  made  "  the  scales  to  fall"  from  all 
eyes.  In  the  light  with  which  our  heavens  were  ablaze  when 
yonder  navy  yard  was  abandoned  in  flames,  even  the  dullest  of 
vision  could  read  the  inscription  written  with  the  finger  of  God 
upon  the  old  Union,  "  Tekkl,  thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances 
and  found  wanting." 

Thus,  through  tlie  madness  of  the  Washington  government, 
our  divided  people  became  at  once  thoroughlj^  united,  and,  as 
the  victory  at  Manassas  has  proved,  united  in  time  effectually 
to  secure  the  rights  and  liberties  bequeathed  to  ns  by  our 
fathers. 

Had  the  federal  administration  pursued  a  wise,  or  even  a 
prudent  course  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  eleven  Confederate 
States,  some  might  have  been  found  among  us  who,  with 
pro]Kn-  constitutional  guai'antees  first  obtained,  would  have 
been  willing  to  see  the  Union  reconstructed — so  great  is  the 
influence  of  old  associations  over  human  opinions  and  human 
conduct;  and  thus  division,  a  second  time,  might  have  been 
introduced  into  our  ranUs.  But  now,  when  the  mad  acts  of  last 
April  have  been  followed  b}'  repeated  infractions  of  the  Consti- 
tution on  the  part  uf  the  executive,  "such  as,"  it  has  been  truly 
said,  "  would  have  cost  any  English  king,  during  the  last  three 
hundred  years,  liis  head,"  and  Congress,  instead  of  impeaching 
the  perjured  usurper,  has  set  its  seal  of  approbation  thereto. 
Now,  when  the  purpose  has  been  Openly  avowed  in^tho  Federal 
Senate  Chamber  to  reduce  these  Southern  States,  and  among 
them,  four  of  the  original  thirteen  who  fought  the  battles  of 
our  first  revolution,  to  the  condition  of  territories,  to  be  ruled 
over  b}'  governors  and  judges  sent  from  the  North,  and  none  is 
found  to  rise  and  rebuke  the  foul  treason — treason  to  constitu- 
tional liberty — treason  to  humanity — treason  to  God.  Now, 
surely,  no  man  can  entertain  tlie  thought  of  reunion  under  the 
proffer  of  constitutional  guarantees  from  the  North.  Such  con- 
stitutional guarantees — what  can  they  be  but  the  dishonored 
notes  of  the  bankrupt,  the  deceitful  promises  of  the' convicted 
peijurer?  Should  a  thought  of  trusting  to  them  enter  lor  a 
moment  any  mind,  methinks  our  very  dead   would  start   up 


12 

from  their  <rraves  upon  the  bloody  battle  fields  of  Rich  Moun- 
tain and  Manassas,  and  rebuke  the  foil}*. 

Thus,  throu<ijh  "the  u;o()d  hand  of  (tod  upon  us,"  in  making 
mad  our  enemies,  we  stand  this  day  a  tliorou^hl}-  united  people, 
"vvith  none  feeble  of  purpose  in  all  our  hosts  ;  and  the  foul  as- 
persion attempted  to  be  ciat  upon  our  fair  fame  in  eallini;  us 
'■  covenant-breakers,  traitors,  rebels,"  recoils  upon  its  authors. 
For  this  let  us  thank  (unl  as  we  stand  here  in  His  house  to-da}-. 

VI.  Men  instinctively  acknowledge  (Jod's  hand  in  events 
which  are  out  of  the  ortlinar}'  course  uf  things,  and  beyond 
human  control,  and  Scripture  history  abundantly  testifies  to  the 
truth  of  this  lieiief 

In  the  late  battle  at  Manassas,  ought  we  not  to  regard  the 
arrival  of  (Jeneral  Kirby  Smith,  willi  his  division,  upon  the 
field,  at  the  critical  moment  wlien  the  fortunes  of  the  tlay 
seemed  hai\ging  as  "in  an  even  balance,"  as  a  special  j)rovi- 
dence  on  our  behalf?  Had  his  division  arrived  at  an  earlier 
hour,  its  accession  must  have  proved  of  far  less  service  than  it 
did.  Had  it  arrived  at  a  later  hour,  it  would,  in  all  probability, 
have  found  our  troops  driven  oH'  the  battle  field,  or  else  main- 
taining their  ground  at  a  sacrifice  of  life  which  would  have 
made  many  a  Southern  home  a  house  of  mourning.  -But,  ari-iv- 
ing  at  the  critical  moment,  it  dccideTl  the  fortunes  of  the  day — 
the  battle  was  won — "  the  glorious  victory"  of  Manassas  was 
ours. 

The  ai-rival  of  this  division  upon  the  field  at  Just  the  time  at 
which  it  did  arrive,  was  determined,  in  part,  by  an  accident  to 
the  train  which  bore  it,  we  are  told.  An  accident  differs  fVoni  a 
providence  in  this,  that  it  is  an  event,  out  of  the  ordinary  course 
of  things,  having  no  causal  relation  to  the  purposes  of  God; 
whilst  a  providence  is  ofteii,  also,  an  event  out  of  the  ordinary 
course  of  things,  but  having  its  source  in  the  purj)Oses  of  God. 
Was  it  an  accident,  a  blind  chance,  which  determined  the 
arrival  of  that  train  just  at  the  critical  moment  when  the 
fortunes  of  the  day  were  to  be  decided  ?  Was  it  not  rather 
a  special  pr/)vidcncc  of  God,  for  which  we  should  give  Him 
thanks  to-day. 

And  this  is  not  the  only  instance  of  the  special  providence  of 
God  in  our  behalf  in  this  war.  At  the  very  commencement  of 
active  hostilities,  an  unexpected  storm  prinented  tlie  arrival  of 
the  federal  fieet  sent  to  reinforce  Fort  Sumter,  off  Charleston 
hai'bor,  in  time  to  accomplish  the  treacherous  pui'pose  of  those 
who  sent  it.  From  their  own  showing,  it  is  evident  that  the 
Washingtini  Govei'nment  had  come  under  obligation  to  give 
due  ncitiee  of  any  attempt  on  its  part  to  reinforce  Sumter,  and 
it  is  equally  evident  that  it  attempted  to  give  that  notice  in 
such  a  way  that  all  practical  advantage  from  its  rece])tion 
should  be  lost  to  us,  with  treacherous  equivocation  "to  keep 
the  promise  to  the  ear,  but  break  it  to  the  sense." 


13 

Ought  we  not  to  acknowledge  God's  special  providence  in 
this  storm  ?     Is  it  not  truth  Avhich  is  expressed  in  the  words  : 

"  Sucb  wonders  never  coine  l\y  chance, 

Nor  can  the  winds  such  blessings  blow, 
'Tis  God,  tho  judge,  doth  one  advance, 

"lis  God  that  lays  another  low." — Psnlm  Ixsv. 

God's  special  providence  ought  to  be  acknowledged,  too,  it 
seems  to  me,  in  that  sudden  change'  of  Avind  which  took  place 
at  the  time  our  navy  j'^ard  was  in  flames,  having  been  tirst  fired 
and  then  abandoned  by  orders  from  Wasliington.  Fired  at  the 
point  at  which  it  was,  had  tho  wind  continued  to  blow  from  the 
same  quarter  from  which  it  blew  when  tho  torch  was  applied, 
the  vandal  work  of  destruction  had  been  complete  ;  the  finest 
navy  j^ard  in  this  western  world,  together  with  a  part,  at  least, 
of  tiic  City  of  Portsmouth  had  been  laid  in  ruin«.  But  no  sooner 
have  the  federal  incendiaries  embarked  than  the  wind  shifts  to 
a  different  quarter,  and  the  good  service  which  what  remains 
of  t!iat  navy  yard  has  done  the  cause  of  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy from  that  day  to  the  present,  bears  witness  to  the  worth 
of  the  s})ecial  providence  of  God  manifested  in  the  sudden  shift- 
ing of  the  wind  which  occurred  just  before  day  dawn  on  that, 
to  us,  memorable  Sabbath  morning.  Enough  was  burned  to 
furnish  a  beacon  light  to  arouse  our  slumbering  people  from 
one  end  of  the  Confederate  States  to  the  other.  Enough  was 
saved  to  prove  of  a  value  to  us,  which  the  historian,  when  our 
independence  is  secured  and  our  own  navy  takes  its  place  upon 
the  seas,  alone  can  estimate. 

Yet  more  remarkable  does  a  special  providence  appear,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  in  "  the  terror  from  God"  which  was  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  the  abandonment  of  our  navy  yard  at  the  time 
and  in  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  abandoned. 

I  have  been  told  by  navy  officers  whose  acquaintance  with 
such  matters  renders  their  judgment  worthy  of  respect,  that 
after  the  federal  reinforcements,  canned  up  by  the  Pawnee, 
had  been  added  to  the  force  already  there,  the  yard  might  have 
been  successfully  defended  against  an  attack  of  ten  tiiousand 
men.  It  was  abandoned,  however,  as  I  have  been  credibly 
informed,  under  the  belief  (1st)  that  we  had  a  battery  of  heavy 
cannon  just  ready  to  be  unmasked  against  it,  from  behind  the 
little  piece  of  woods  which  shades  the  magazine  at  St.  Helena, 
and  (l^d)  that  General  Beauregard,  with  five  thousand  South- 
ern troops  had  come  to  our  aid.  The  reality  of  this  battery, 
seen  by  man  after  man  from  the  foretop  of  the  Cumberland, 
must  have  been  the  clay  banks  thrown  up  at  the  brick-kilns 
near  St.  Helena.  So  far  were  we  from  being  in  a  condition 
to  furnish  the  armament  for  such  a  battery,  our  people,  in  their 
extremity,  were  actually  digging  up  the  old  rust-rotted  cannons 


14 

from  the  corners  of  our  streets,  to  find  sonu'thinn:  with  which 
to  defend  themselves.  The  reality-  of  tlie  arrival  of  tieneral 
Beauregard  with  tive  thousand  Southern  troops  was  the  com- 
ing of  eii>;ht  hundred  volunteers  from  the  neighboring  cities  of 
Petersburg  and  Kichmond,  to  aid  us  in  our  time  of  need, 
together  with  the  noisy  ])assagc  of  an  engine  with  some  empty 
cars  attached,  up  and  down  our  railroad,  throughout  the  night 
of  the  liUth  of  April.  So  far  wore  we  from  being  able  to  attack 
the  yard  with  a  force  of  tivcTthousand  men,  I  doubt  whether  we 
could  have  raised  an  armed  force  of  fifteen  hundred,  even  afler 
the  volunteers  from  Petersburg  and  Richmond  had  arrived — 
we  had  the  men,  but  not  the  arms  to  give  them  to  detend  our- 
selves against  any  attack  which  might  be  made  upon  us. 

Compare,  now,  this  portion  of  the  history  of  the  present  war 
with  tlie  inspired  record  of  a  special  providence  wrought  of  God 
in  the  tlays  of  Hlisha.  "  And  when  they  were  come  to  the  utter- 
most ])artof  the  camp  of  Syria,  behold  there  was  no  man  there. 
For  the  Lord  had  made  the  host  of  the  Syrians  to  hear  a  noise 
of  chariots,  and  a  noise  of  horses,  even  the  noise  of  a  great  host: 
and  the\'  said  one  to  another,  Lo,  the  king  of  Israel  hath  hired 
against  us  the  kings  of  the  Hittites,  and  the  kings  of  the  Egypt- 
ians, to  come  upon  us.  Wherefore  they  arose  and  fled  in  the 
twilight"  [the  very  hour  at  which  our  navy  3'ard  was  aban- 
doned] "and  left  their  tents,  and  their  horses,  and  their  asses, 
eventhe  camp  as  it  was."     2  Kings  vii,  5,  7. 

Surely  we  have  occasion  to  acknowledge  Gods  special  pi-ovi- 
dence  in  this  flight  of  the  federal  troops  and  ships-of-wai*  from 
our  navy  3'ard,  and  to  render  Him  thanks  therefor  to-day. 

Such  are  some  of  the  instances  in  which,  evidently,  "the  good 
hand  of  our  God  has  been  upon  us"  in  this  second  war  of  inde- 
pendence. As  we  remember  them,  shall  we  not  say  with 
David:  "Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  M'ithin  me, 
bless  His  holy  name.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  mj^  soul,  and  forget 
not  all  His  benefits."     Ps.  ciii,  1,  2. 

With  a  thought  suggested  by  the  name  Manassas  (or  Ma- 
nasseh),  for  I  cannot  regard  it  as  mere  accident  that  our  two 
important  battle  fields  should  bear  the  significant  Scripture 
names  of  Bethel  and  Manassas,  I  will  close  this  discourse :  "  And 
Joseph  called  the  name  of  his  first  born  Manasseli ;  for  God,  said 
he,  hath  made  me  forget  all  ray  toil."  Gen.  xli,  51.  As  the 
excellent  Matthew  Heni-y  remarks,  ''In  the  name  he  gave  his 
son,  he  owned  the  divine  providence  ^i  ing  this  haj»py  turn  to 
his  affairs.  We  should  ever  bear  our  uHiictions  when  they  are 
present,  as  those  that  know  not  but  Providence  may  so  out- 
%veigh  them  by  after-comforts,  as  that  we  may  even  forget 
them  when  they  are  passed." 

The  jiresent  is  a  season  of  sore  trial  to  us — sore  trial,  espe- 
cially, in  this — that  munj'  of  those  nearest  and  dearest  to  us  are 


15 


exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  the  camp  and  the  battle  field.  We 
blessed  them  as  they  went  forth;  we  follow  them  with  our 
prayers  now  that  they  are  absent  from  us.  God,  I  believe,  has 
this  day  guided  our  thoughts  pilgrims  to  Manassas,  that  here 
our  faith  may  learn  to  say,  in  glad  anticipation  of  the  future— 
"  God  hath  made  me  forget  all  my  toil." 


THE  SOUTHERN  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY. 

Connecting  with  all  Western,  Easten  and  Northern  Lin(|»  (tf  Telegraph. 

DIRECT  LINE  FROM  NEW  ORLEANS  tTaLEXANDRIA,  RICHMOND, 

AXIJ    AI.L.    INTKKMEUIA'IK    PL.ACJi.>.. 
OFFICE— UNDER  ST.  CHARLES   HOTEL,  Corner  Gravier  Street. 


• 


Terms  and  Conditions  on  which  Messages  are  received  by  this  Company  for  Transmission : 

The  public  are  notified  that,  in  order  to  guard  a}^ain^t  '  .  -  - 

Importance  ought  to  he  repeati-d,  by  being  sent  tiack  fruni 
it  was  originally  sent.     Half  the  usual  price  for  transnli^ 

Company  will  as  heretofore  uso  every  i)recaut  ion  toensiiii-  .iirv'  rtn.--',  u  win  n^t  i..'  ir<ii.i|i-ii'ii'  i>>r  iiu>i:ik  -  or  iiciay.^ 
in  the  transmission  or  delivery  of  repeated  messages  beyonI%n  amount  exceeding  five  humlreil  timi'S  the  amount  paid 
for  sending  the  message,  nor  will  it  be  ri'Spunsible  for  niist.iEes  or  delays  in  the  tranamissioii  uf  uiirepeatcd  mossages, 
from  whatever  cause  they  may  arise,  nor  for  del  iy8  arising  from  interruptions  in  the  working  of  its  t'degraphs,  nor 
for  any  mistake  or  omission  of  any  other  Company  over  whose  lines  a.  message  is  to  be  sent  to  reach  the  plica  of  (jesti- 
nation.    All  messages  will  hereafter  be  received  by  this  Company  for  transmission  subject  to  the  above  conditions. 

J.  M"  DOWELIi,  Genu  Sup't, 

^  "  •      Petersburo,  Ta. 

»     '^  t>"^^ . 


Cy^yf^  ^'^^^.^Z..^ 


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